USA might deploy 1,000 more ground troops into Syria

The Pentagon might send up to 1,000 more troops in the north of Syria as part of the preparations of the international coalition forces to attack Raqqa – the de facto “capital” of the Islamic State.

It was reported by The Washington Post with with a reference to anonymous sources in the Pentagon.

If US Secretary of Defense James Mattis and then US President Donald Trump approve the plan of the military command, the contingent of US troops in Syria will potentially double. It will also increase the potential for direct involvement of American soldiers in the offensive on Raqqa.

According to The Washington Post, if the plan is approved, the new recruits will come from the personnel of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit and the 82nd Airborne Division of the US Army.

The White House could soon lift restrictions on the number of American troops in the Middle East, that was set by the administration of Barack Obama. According to the law, there can be no more than 5000 US military in Iraq and 500 in Syria.